Lacombe County Council discusses cannabis land use bylaw

Lacombe County Council has chosen to push back second and third reading of their cannabis land use bylaw after a public hearing which saw potential producers voice concern over the proposed amended setback of 100 m from neighboring residents.

Bylaw 1285/18, when enacted, will regulate the production and retail of cannabis in Lacombe County and will allow for cannabis producers and retailers to apply for development permits.

“The feedback we received from the public hearing is that there is some concern and questions on what we have proposed for setbacks,” County Reeve Paula Law said. “We are going to take it back and think about it before we take it back to second and third reading.”

Law said, given that the County is dealing with an issue that urban municipalities are not with cannabis production sites, said they are trying to create legislation that is ahead of the curve.

“It is about how will we deal with it in our agricultural communities and try to set the parameters on our bylaw to not only facilitate the potential for these facilities, but also mitigate any concerns we may have with neighboring properties,” Law said.

Nobody at the public hearing spoke for or against retail locations in Lacombe County and the proposed bylaw currently has cannabis retail being relegated to hamlets and commercial areas.

Council will discuss setbacks as well as the bylaw in its current form and cannabis development in Lacombe County will not begin until the bylaw is passed.

At press time, the community standards proposed bylaw, which is in regards to public consumption, has not gone to second and third reading.